Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Legislative Analysis
                                                                              Phone: (517) 373-8080
IDENTIFICATION FOR ELECTION PURPOSES
                                                                              http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 373 (S-1) as passed by the House                                  Analysis available at
Sponsor: Sen. Stephanie Chang                                                 http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Committee: Elections
Senate Committee: Elections and Ethics
Complete to 6-27-23
                                                                    (Enacted as Public Act 87 of 2023)
SUMMARY:
       Senate Bill 373 would amend the Michigan Election Law to revise the photo identification that
       can be used for election purposes to comply with section 4 of Article II of the state constitution,
       approved by voters as Ballot Proposal 2 of 2022. That section provides that a registered voter
       has the right to prove their identity when voting or applying for an absent voter ballot in person
       by presenting their photo identification, including photo identification issued by an educational
       institution or a federal, state, local, or tribal government. The bill would accordingly add to the
       act photo identification issued by a local government, as well as revising the act’s current
       description of acceptable photo identification from educational institutions. The bill is identical
       to House Bill 4698 as passed by the House.
       Under the Michigan Election Law, a person must present identification for election purposes
       to identify themselves when, among other things, voting in person or applying in person for an
       absent voter ballot.
       Currently, the term identification for election purposes means any of the following:
          • A driver’s license or enhanced driver’s license issued by the state of Michigan.
          • An official state personal identification card or enhanced official state personal
              identification card issued by the state of Michigan.
          • A current driver’s license issued by another state.
          • A current state personal identification card issued by another state.
          • A current state government issued photo identification card.
          • A current United States passport or photo identification card issued by the federal
              government.
          • A current military photo identification card.
          • A current tribal photo identification card.
          • A current student photo identification card issued by a high school in Michigan; a state
              institution of higher education, junior college, or community college; or another
              accredited degree- or certificate-granting college or university, junior college, or
              community college located in Michigan.
       Under the bill, identification for election purposes would additionally include a current photo
       identification card issued by a local government, and a current student identification card would
       have to be issued by an educational institution (instead of by an institution listed above).
               Educational institution would mean a public or private institution, or a separate school
               or department of a public or private institution, that is authorized by law or an
               accrediting body to grant or issue a diploma, degree, certificate, or license, or to grant
House Fiscal Agency                                                                            Page 1 of 2
                approval to practice a profession or engage in an enterprise, such as an academy, high
                school, college, university, community college, junior college, secondary school,
                extension course, or a business, nursing, professional, secretarial, technical, or
                vocational school.
        Under both current law and the bill, the photo identification would have to be issued to the
        individual presenting the card or document and, if presented for voting purposes, the name on
        the card or document would have to sufficiently match the individual’s name in their voter
        registration record so as to accurately identify the individual as the registered elector. Note that
        a person registering to vote must prove their residency and eligibility, which requires other
        kinds of documentation than the photo identification described above.
        The bill is tie-barred to Senate Bill 367, 1 a bill that would implement early voting and allow
        absent voter ballots to be tabulated before election day, among other things, meaning that
        Senate Bill 373 cannot go into effect unless SB 367 is also enacted.
        MCL 168.2
FISCAL IMPACT:
        The bill would have no fiscal impact on the state or local units of government.
POSITIONS:
        The following entities indicated support for the bill (6-20-23):
           • American Association of University Women
           • American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan
           • Common Cause Michigan
           • Institute for Responsive Government
           • Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks
           • Michigan League of Conservation Voters
           • Promote The Vote
           • Voters Not Politicians
        Pure Integrity for Michigan Elections indicated opposition to the bill. (6-20-23)
                                                              Legislative Analyst: Holly Kuhn
                                                                   Fiscal Analyst: Michael Cnossen
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
1
 For a summary of SB 367 as passed by the House, see: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-
2024/billanalysis/House/pdf/2023-HLA-0367-B3178DB5.pdf.
House Fiscal Agency                                          SB 373 (S-1) as passed by the House      Page 2 of 2
Statutes affected: 
Substitute (S-1): 168.2
Senate Introduced Bill: 168.2
As Passed by the Senate: 168.2
As Passed by the House: 168.2
Senate Concurred Bill: 168.2
Public Act: 168.2
Senate Enrolled Bill: 168.2